Many assessments are available to predict or analyze the potential for success for a person at a particular job or task. Such assessments are different from right or wrong answer tests such as the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT) or the Health School Entrance Exam (MCAT) or college entrance exams (ACT). That is to say, in forced answer assessments, the participant, often referred to herein as the respondent, must choose between several choices of varying degree. For example in one assessment depicted later in this Specification, as a physical health assessment requires the respondent to respond with respect to deep fried foods, i.e., whether they hate them, dislike them, are neutral towards them, like them, or love them. The answer has obvious health implications but depends upon the respondent's integrity. Heretofore, there have not been successful ways of validating ipsative assessment instruments to determine whether the person is giving true answers, answers they think are likely to be politically correct, or answers that they really believe. This one failing has made some potential customers for such assessments shy away from purchase of the instruments or from evaluating prospective employees by use of such assessments.
It has now been found that by using currently available electroencephalography science, one is able to develop a methodology for validating ipsative assessment instruments.
An electroencephalogram (EEG) measures and records the electroactivity of your brain. Special sensors (electrodes) are attached to one's head and hooked by wires to a computer. The computer records the brain's electrical activity on a screen or on a paper as wavy lines. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting form ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain. In clinical contexts, EEG refers to the recording of the brain's spontaneous electrical activity over a short period of time, as recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp. Diagnostic applications generally focus on the spectral content of EEG, that is, the type of neural oscillations that can be observed in EEG signals. In neurology, the main diagnostic application of EEG is in the case of epilepsy, as epileptic activity can create clear abnormalities on a standard EEG study. A secondary clinical use of EEG is in the diagnosis of coma, encephalopathies, and brain death.
Heretofore, no one has used electroencephalography for combining with ipsative assessment taking to determine the integrity of the choices made by the respondents. This invention is premised upon such a discovery and the coupling of two widely different technologies.
It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide a validation process for an ipsative assessment.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a methodology for determining whether or not respondents, such as potential employees, are in fact answering assessment questions with integrity.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide enhanced value for ipsative assessments because one can rely with confidence on their results, knowing the respondents made truthful choices.
These, as well as other objectives and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.